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SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accepted Bulgaria's highest honor on Wednesday for helping secure the release of six medics in Libya. "I'm glad and pleased to have played a role," she said after the ceremony, the silver and white medallion draped around her neck on a thick white ribbon. "It was indeed a terrible ordeal but one I'm glad has ended." The top U.S. diplomat had taken less of a public role than did several other international figures in the case. But Libya agreed to free the medics in part to improve its relationship with the United States. She planned to meet with some of the freed medics after meetings with Bulgarian leaders in the capital. Rice had encouraged Libya to release the medics, saying it was time they go back to their families. But she avoided strong public criticism of... [read full story]
